[jime]

So no combustion, has to be fuel or spark, right?

Well, yes with most cars. Unfortunately there is another failure which occurs with these 20 year old cars - broken cams and broken cam dowel pins

It has happened several times to owners here. It is easy to check. Just remove the valve cover and have someone check that the cam is rotating. If so, then make sure the #1 cam sprocket line matches up with the head top when the crank index is at TDC on the compression stroke.

 

[jime]

I was worried someone would say this. I will got didn't have time today, but tomorrow I will have a look under there valve cover. I don't see ho the camshaft could have broken while it was sitting in the driveway, but its the next thing to check.

What happens with bearing "freezes" is that the bearing is very hot while the engine is running. When it shuts down and is stationary, it welds. Well sometimes anyway.

You can do a very quick check to see if the cam is turning by looking down the oil fill hole. If the cam is turning, you will see the rockers (for #3) moving the valves open&close. Doesn't check the dowel pin or timing.

 

[jime]

I checked this and it doesn't seem to be the case. If the clutch switch wasn't being pressed, wouldn't the starter motor be disabled as if I wasn't pressing the clutch at all? If I try to start without pressing the clutch nothing happens.

Yes, I think you are right, IMO.

Take the plugs out, turn the engine over and see if any liquids come out. Do a compression check while you are at it. Examine the plugs for wear.

Are the cam timing marks correct?

Sometimes you can "soak" a set of plugs with fuel while engaged in long starting attempts. You might pick up a cheap set of "dry" plugs and give that a try.

How many miles on the car? Been running well?

 

[jime]

Timing seems to be correct.

What exactly is the cam dowel pin? Presumably not the dowel pins that align the head to the block, but those are the only dowel pins in the head I am aware of. Not getting much info googling "camshaft dowel pin."

The cam sprocket is held on by a single bolt. There is a dowel pin between the sprocket and the cam face to index the cam. It sometimes shears, but if you are getting rotation and proper timing, then it should be ok.

I will pull the spark plugs and check they cylinders, and probably replace all the plugs because its an easy thing to do. I'm not sure how all the plugs could go bad at the same time, though.

I agree, it seems that plugs wouldn't be all bad. I was just pointing out that they may all be fouled by now. Look for a moist, shiny appearance. If they are dry, and have sharp edges, I'd just clean them. The proper ones are expensive.

 

[jime]

To me the plug looks damp enough to be shorted. Buy some cheap new plugs and don't use ether until you give them a chance. Even then, use sparingly or it will foul the plugs - assuming something else is wrong.

 

[jime]

????. Well, let's see. Ground "shell" of each and every plug/coil and make sure they all fire.

Cam position sensor at back of cam could have failed. Not sure how to test that. I think there is also a crank position sensor. Anyway a sensor could have failed. klr3cyl is the authority on this kind of stuff, so maybe he will check in

 

[jime]

Another possibility just occurred to me. Do you suppose you might have excess moisture condensation in your tank?

That problem can sometimes be intermittent. You might try some dry gas.

 

[jime]

Just one more suggestion, since it appears that the engine was probably flooded, you might have the fuel injectors cleaned. If the spray pattern is bad, that "might" lead to flooding. Never sure on that kind of stuff